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Lovell Rugby Six Nations Team Of The Tournament 2011

After a Thrilling Final Weekend of 6 Nations action, Lovell Rugby is again picking its team of the Tournament. As ever debate was raging in office, but here is our final picks.

XV of the Championship

15 Ben Foden (England) – Andrea Masi did push for a late inclusion but Foden takes our opening slot after an impressive campaign. The Saints Full Back lined well with Cueto and Ashton.

14 Chris Ashton (England) – He finished at the try-scoring summit with six scores and rightly deserves his number fourteen jersey. England hopes his form continues in New Zealand.

13 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland) – O’Ddriscoll is the ultimate big match performer. This was clear against England. His defence was also top quality keeping Matt Banahan very quite.

12 Jonathen Davies (Wales) – The Scarlets centre played 4 out of 5 matches for Wales and in his debut international season played well.

11 Max Evans (Scotland) – Glasgow will sorely miss their centre-cum-wing next season but Scotland will continue to enjoy his dynamism. Belying his size, Evans has been immense. Scored a great chip and score try against England.

10 Toby Flood (England) – This was another position which was heavily debated. It was a close one between him and Jonathen Sexton. The fact that O’Gara started two matches was against him and O’Gara closed out the Italy Victory. Bar the Ireland game Flood played well, stood flat and kicked well.

9 Mike Phillips (Wales) - Another tough call in the office. Parra played well for France, although was under used in the starting team. Phillips showed signs he was coming back to his best form against Ireland. Scored a contraversial try and carried strongly.

8 Sergio Parisse (Italy) – What can you say about this man? Parisse leads by example and is fully deserving of his place in our XV. Pretty much a mainstay in our earlier selections. Carries well, has a high tackle rate and is superd under the high ball.

7 Sam Warburton (Wales) – Warburton has cemented the Welsh 7 shirt with an impressive 6 Nations. Took over from veteran club mate Martyn Williams and had a great championship. A powerfull modern day 7.

6 Tom Woods (IEngland) – A great breakthrough tournament for the Young Northampton Saints Flanker. Was slightly outplayed by Sean O’Brien against Ireland, but overall had a fantastic tournament. Carried well in the loose and did alot of unseen work.

5 Tom Palmer (England) – Palmer has impressed in the second row for England. Carried well in loose and a quality lineout forward. Man of the Match against France aswell.

4 Richie Gray (Scotland) – How the young lock was not included in the shortlist for player of the championship is a real puzzler. Gray was an outstanding performer from the outset.

3 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) – A tough call to leave out the likes of Nicolas Mas and Dan Cole but Castrogiovanni cracks the nod after being a key cog in that victory over France.

2 Matthew Rees (Wales) – It was a voting tie between Scarlets hooker Rees and William Servat but we felt that the former merits the jersey as he was without his starting props. Dylan Hartley was a close second.

1 Thomas Domingo (France) – His absence against Italy slipped under the radar somewhat but not here as his impact was sorely missed in Rome. He has been dynamic throughout.